The Atlantis Gene: A Thriller (The Origin Mystery, Book 1)

by A. G. Riddle

  The man swallowed and steadied himself in the doorway. “Cole. Name’s Cole Bryant.”

  “That’s better. Where you from Cole Bryant?”

  “Jakarta Branch, Immari Security Select Forces.”

  “No, where are you from originally?”

  “What?” The young mercenary seemed confused by the question.

  “Where did you grow up?”

  “Colorado. Fort Collins.”

  David could see that Cole was coming out of the haze. He would be dangerous soon. He needed to find out if Cole Bryant fit the bill.

  “Got a family back there?”

  Cole took a few steps away from David. “Nope.”

  It was a lie. Very promising. Now David needed to make him believe.

  “They go trick-or-treating in Fort Collins?”

  “What?” Cole edged toward the door.

  “Stop moving.” David’s voice was harder. “That feeling at your back, that tightness. You feel that?”

  The man touched his lower back, trying to slide a hand into his armor. Confusion clouded his face.

  David walked to a duffel bag in the corner of the room and threw the flap open, revealing several square and rectangular brown blocks that looked like Play-doh wrapped in Saran wrap.

  “You know what this is?”

  Cole nodded.

  “I put a small row of this explosive up your spine. This wireless trigger controls it.” David held his left hand out, showing Cole a small cylinder about the size of two double AA batteries put end-to-end. The top had a round red button that David’s thumb held down. “You know what this is?”

  Cole froze. “A dead man’s trigger.”

  “Very good, Cole. This is a dead man’s trigger.” David stood and slung the duffel bag around his shoulder. “If my thumb slips off this button, those explosives will go off, and it will turn your insides into a gelatinous goo. Keep in mind, there’s not enough explosive to hurt me, or even penetrate your body armor. I could be standing right next to you, and if I were shot or came to any harm, the explosion would liquefy your insides, leaving your hard outer shell, just like a Cadbury Cream Egg. You like Cadbury Cream Eggs, Cole?” David could see he was really scared now.

  Cole shook his head slightly to the side.

  “Really? They were my favorite when I was a kid. Loved getting those things at Easter. My mom used to even save some to give me at Halloween after I got through trick-or-treating. Couldn’t wait to get home and crack one open. The thick chocolate shell, gooey yellow inside.” David looked away, as if remembering how delicious they were. He glanced back at Cole. “But you don’t want to be a Cadbury Cream Egg, do you Cole?”

  CHAPTER 34

  Immari Jakarta Headquarters

  Jakarta, Indonesia

  Martin stepped out of the elevator onto the helipad. The sun had almost set. The sky was red and the wind at the top of 80-story building blew in from the sea, carrying the smell of saltwater. Ahead of him, Dorian Sloane waited with three of his men. When he saw Martin, he turned and motioned for the helicopter pilot to start the take-off sequence. The engine fired, and the rotor blades started to turn.

  “I told you she wouldn’t talk,” Sloane said.

  “She needs time.”

  “It won’t help.”

  Martin straightened. “I know her far better than you do—”

  “That’s debatable—”

  “Say another word, and I’ll make you sorry.” Martin stepped toward Sloane, now almost shouting over the roar of the helicopter. “She needs time, Dorian. She will talk. I urge you not to do this.”

  “You created this situation, Martin. I’m just cleaning it up.”

  “We have time.”

  “We both know we don’t — you said it yourself. And I was quite amused at the other things you said. I assumed you hated me because you hated my methods and plans.”

  “I hate you because of what you did to her—”

  “Which wasn’t a tenth of what she did to my family.”

  “She had nothing to do with that—”

  “Let’s agree to disagree, Martin. And let’s focus on the task at hand.”

  Sloane grabbed him by the arm and led him away from the helicopter where it would be easier to talk. And, Martin thought, where Sloane’s men couldn’t hear him.

  “Listen, Martin, I’ll make you a deal. I’ll delay Toba Protocol until we find out if this can work. You let us work on the girl, we’ll get what we need in one, maybe two hours tops. If we leave now for Antarctica, we’ll have the information by the time we land. We could test a true Atlantis Gene Retrovirus within 8 hours. I know you’re looking for an entrance.” Martin began to speak, but Dorian waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t bother denying it, Martin. I have a man on the team. Within 24 hours, you and I could walk through the gates of the tombs together. No Toba. This is the only play you have, we both know it.”

  “I want your word that she will not be harmed… permanently harmed.”

  “Martin. I’m not a monster. We just need what she knows, I would never permanently harm her.”

  “We’ll agree to disagree on that point.” Martin looked down. “We should leave now. The Antarctica site is rather hard to get to.”

  As they walked to the helicopter, Sloane pulled one of the men aside. “Get Tarea out of that cell, and tell him to find out what Warner did to those kids.”

  CHAPTER 35

  Outside Immari Jakarta Headquarters

  Jakarta, Indonesia

  They had driven in silence for almost ten minutes when David said, “Tell me Cole, how does a kid from Fort Collins wind up at Immari Security?”

  Cole stared straight ahead, focusing on driving. “You say it like it’s a bad thing.”

  “You have no idea.”

  “Says the guy who killed my partner and strapped a bomb to my spine.”

  Cole had a point. But David couldn’t explain — that would take away his leverage. Sometimes you had to be a bad guy to save the good guys.

  They continued on in silence until they reached the Immari Jakarta Campus — a collection of six buildings surrounded by a high chain-link fence, topped with barbed wire. Guard houses flanked every entrance. David put the helmet and goggles on and handed Cole the ID of the man he’d killed.

  At the gate, the guard stepped out of the booth and sauntered over to the car. “ID?”

  Cole handed him two Immari ID Cards. “Bryant and Stevens.”

  The guard took the IDs. “Thanks, asshole. I’ve only been reading for 40 years now.”

  Cole held up a hand. “Just trying to be helpful.”

  The guard leaned in the window. “Take the helmet off,” he said to David.

  David pulled the helmet off and looked straight forward, then to the side, hoping the side view would pass, that the closer look was just mild professional hazing or the insecure guard pounding his chest.

  The guard examined the ID then scrutinized David. He repeated the motion several times. “Just a minute.” He hurried back to the booth.

  “That standard?” David asked Cole.

  “Never happened before.”

  The man had the phone at his ear. He was dialing, his eyes glued on them.

  David drew his gun and reached across the car in one fluid motion. The guard dropped the phone and reached for his gun. David fired a single shot, hitting the man in the left shoulder, just above where the vest ended. The man collapsed to the ground. He would live, but his attitude probably wouldn’t improve.

  Cole looked over at David, then gunned the car toward the main Immari Headquarters building.

  “Park at the rear entrance, near the boat landing.” David reached into the backseat and grabbed a small pack filled with explosives. He pulled the duffel bag with the remaining charges into the floorboard.

  In the distance, they heard the wail of sirens erupt across the campus perimeter.

  They entered the building through an unguarded loading dock door
. David placed a charge on the wall next to the door. He punched a code into the detonator, and it began beeping. It was hard to do one-handed, but he had to keep his thumb on the trigger for Cole’s sake.

  They moved down the hallway, and David placed additional explosives every twenty feet or so.

  David had opted not to tell Cole anything before they arrived — his captive could have found a way to communicate the information to Immari HQ, or they could be intercepted. Either way, there was no upside. Now he had to explain. “Listen, Cole. They’re holding a woman somewhere in this building. Dr. Kate Warner. We need to find her.”

  Cole hesitated for a moment, then said, “The holding cells and interrogation rooms are in the middle of the building, on the 47th floor… But even if she is there and you get her out of the room, you’ll never get out of the building. Security is on its way here now, and there are already dozens of guards in this building alone. Plus field agents who have returned.” Cole motioned to the dead man’s trigger in David’s left hand. “What happens to me? If you…”

  David thought. “Is there any field ops equipment in this building?”

  “Yeah, the main armory on three, but most of the weapons and armor are gone — the entire field regiment was deployed to kill you today.”

  “It won’t matter; they wouldn’t have taken what I need. When we have the girl, I’ll give you this trigger, you have my word, Cole. Then I’ll make my own way out.”

  Cole nodded once, then said, “There’s a service stairwell without cameras.”

  “One thing before we go.” David opened a supply closet and lit a fire. In seconds, the flame licked up the wood racks toward the smoke detector on the ceiling.

  Fire alarms called out around them as flickering LED lights punctuated the din, and pandemonium broke out. Doors opened, people ran from rooms left and right, sprinklers sprang to life, and water soaked the fleeing masses.

  “Now we can go.”

  CHAPTER 36

  Immari Jakarta Headquarters

  Jakarta, Indonesia

  On the elevator, Kate had fought at the guards’ vice-grip hold on her arms. They pinned her to the wall until the elevator doors opened, then hauled her into a room with what looked like a reclining dentist’s chair. They threw her down, strapped her in, and said, “The doctor will be right in.” They had laughed as they walked out.

  Now she waited. The relief at seeing Martin felt like a million years ago. The wide straps cut into her arms, just above where the zip-ties had gouged her wrists. Fear started to grip her. The room’s walls were stark white, and except for the chair, the only thing in the room was a steel high-top table with a round bundle on it. She could barely see it from the reclining chair, which forced her gaze up at the buzzing florescent lights.

  The door opened, and she craned her head up to see. It was him — the man who had taken the kids. The man who took her from the soldier’s van. A wide smile spread across his face. It was a mean smile, the kind that said, “I have you now.”

  He stopped a few feet from her face. “You’ve gotten me in a lot of trouble today, little girl. But life is about second chances.” He walked over to the steel table and unrolled the bundle. Out of the corner of her eye, Kate could barely make out the gleam of steel utensils, long and pointy. He glared back at her over his shoulder. “Oh, who am I kidding? In my experience, life is about payback.” He took out one of his tools of torture — a smaller version of a grilling skewer. “You’re going to tell me what I need to know, and I hope it takes as long as physically possible.”

  Another man came in. He wore a white coat and held something Kate couldn’t quite see, possibly a syringe. “What are you doing?” he asked the torturer.

  “Getting started. What are you doing?”

  “That’s not the plan. We use the drugs first — those are the orders.”

  “Not my orders.”

  Kate lay there helpless as the men stared at each other, the torturer holding the silver prod, the white-coat clutching the syringe.

  Finally, syringe-man said, “Whatever. I’m going to give her this, then you can do whatever you want.”

  “What is it?”

  “Something new we’re using in Pakistan. Basically turns their brains to mush; they’ll tell you anything.”

  “Is it permanent?” the torturer asked.

  “Sometimes. Been lots of different side effects. We’re still working on it.” He jammed the oversized syringe into Kate’s arm and injected slowly. She felt the cold liquid fill her veins. She fought against the straps, but they were too tight.

  “How long will it take?”

  “Ten, maybe fifteen minutes.”

  “Will she remember?”

  “Probably not.”

  The torturer set the silver tool down and walked over to Kate. He ran a hand down her chest and legs. “So cute. And feisty. Maybe they’ll let me have you when they have their answers.”

  CHAPTER 37

  Kate didn’t know how long it had been, didn’t know if she had been asleep, if she was awake now. Maybe not. Her body didn’t hurt. She couldn’t feel the straps. She was so thirsty. The lights were blinding. So bright. She turned her head to the side, licking her lips. So thirsty.

  The ugly man was in her face. He grabbed her chin and jerked her back into the light. She squinted. His face, so mean. Angry. “I’d say we’re about ready for our first date, Princess.”

  He pulled something out of his pocket. A paper?

  “But first, we need to get some paperwork out of the way. Just a couple of questions. Question number one: what did you give those children?” He pointed at the paper. “Ah, and we have a footnote here: we know it wasn’t A-R-C 2-4-7, whatever the hell that is. They know it wasn’t that, so don’t even try it. So, what was it? Final answer please.”

  Kate tried to fight the urge to respond. She shook her head side-to-side, but in her mind’s eye, she saw herself in the lab, preparing it, worrying that it wouldn’t work, or that it would harm their brains, turn them to… mush… the drug they had given her… She had to…

  “What was it? Tell us.”

  “I gave… my babies…”

  He leaned over her. “Speak up, Princess. We can’t hear you. Operators are standing by to record your answers.”

  “I gave… couldn’t… gave my babies…”

  “Yes, that’s it, gave your babies what?”

  “Gave my babies…”

  He sat up. “Jesus, you guys hearing this? She’s fried.” He closed the door. “Time for plan B.” He did something in the corner of the room.

  She couldn’t focus.

  Then an alarm, and water, falling from the ceiling. Lights flashing now, even brighter than the lights before. Kate squeezed her eyes shut. How much time had passed? A loud sound, more of them. Gun fire. The door exploding.

  The ugly man fell, bloody. They unstrapped her, but she couldn’t stand, she flowed out of the seat onto the ground like a child going down a water slide.

  She could see him — the soldier from the van. He wore a backpack. He handed another man something. The man was scared, he put his thumb on it. The voices were muffled, like she was underwater.

  The soldier took her face in his hands. “Gate? Dan view cheer bee? Gate?” His hands were warm. The water was cold. She licked her lips. She should have drunk some. Still so thirsty.

  He jumped up, more gun blasts. He left. He was back. “Dan view foot your harms houuround bee?” He held her arms, but she couldn’t move them; they fell, lifeless, to the ground. They were made of concrete.

  He darted back to the door, threw something.

  He picked her up in both his arms, strong arms. He ran. Ahead of them a wall of glass and steel exploded. Shards hit her, but they didn’t hurt.

  They were flying. No, falling. He held her tight, with only one arm now. He reached back, trying to get something.

  Then they were yanked back, caught on something. She flew, fell from his arms, but he
held her, by one arm. She dangled as he glided above, suspended by strings from a white cloud. His grip was slipping, she was too wet, her clothes were wet. She was falling.

  He trapped her with his feet, digging into her back and ribs. His hand moved up her arm and finally, he wrapped both legs around her. She faced down now, and she saw them.

  Men, gunfire, below — the building and the docks were filling with them. More men ran out of the buildings and began firing. Beeps above. The bottom of the building exploded, throwing shrapnel and pieces of the soldiers into the parking lot.

  Ripping sounds above; they fell faster now. The man wiggled, and she felt them flying away, moving farther out over the bay.

  More sounds below — motors cranking and more gunfire. They twisted around, and she saw the marina swarming to life. Rapid beeps above. A car in the parking lot winked out of existence, sending a wall of flame and smoke hundreds of feet around it, engulfing everything and everyone. The gun fire stopped.

  It was quiet, peaceful now. She saw the last ray of sunlight set over the Java Sea as darkness fell. They hung there for a time, Kate didn’t know how long.

  Above, she heard another rip, and they were plummeting to the black sea below. Kate felt him struggling, reaching for something. The legs around her slipped; they finally lost their grip, and she was falling faster, by herself. Seconds passed in slow motion. She rolled as she fell, saw the man floating above her, floating away from her.

  She heard but didn’t feel the loud crack as the water engulfed her, pushing her down, now pulling her down. Water, cold salt water was in her mouth and her nose, and she couldn’t breathe, could only suck in water. It burned. The darkness was almost complete, just a glimmer of light at the surface where the moon kissed the sea.

  She drifted now, arms at her side, eyes open, waiting.

  Waiting. She fought not to breathe more water. Her mind went blank. No thought. Only cold water, all around her and burning in her lungs.

  A flare, a burning stick falling down, too far away from her. And something swimming at the surface, too far away. Another flare, closer, but still too far. The creature bobbed it’s head below, swam, then came up for air. A third flare, and the figure dived below, toward her. It grabbed her and pulled her, kicking violently toward the surface. They would never reach it. She took another gulp of water, had to, needed air. It invaded her, felt like cold concrete being poured down her mouth. And it pulled at her so hard, not letting her rise, and the moon was there and then everything was so dark.